Paris Hilton Stabbed in Jail Hoax

Outline:
Reports claims that jailed heiress Paris Hilton was stabbed multiple times by another prisoner.

Status:
False

Example:
LOS ANGELES, CA Paris Hilton who not more than four hours earlier was physically removed from a courtroom, has been stabbed multiple times.Although no official statement has been released, unnamed sources from within the Lynwood medical ward tell CNN that Paris received two wounds to the chest, one to the back, one to the throat and three to the abdomen. Although her condition has been stabilized, surgeons are pessimistic about a full recovery. Their main concern being that the puncture to her back may have severely damaged her spinal cord.

Detailed Analysis:
Messages that claim that Paris Hilton has been stabbed while in prison are currently circulating online and via email. According to the messages, Hilton was stabbed multiple times by another inmate who became angry after being yelled at by the celebrity heiress.

However, the claims in the message are untrue. Paris Hilton is being held at the Twin Towers Correctional Facility in Los Angeles County but has not be stabbed or injured. The rumours began circulating after a fake news report, designed to resemble a genuine CNN.com news article was published by prankster Michael Burke.

According to Burke, the fake article recorded almost a million page views in the three days after it was published and has generated enquiries from all around the world. Staff at the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department have also received many calls about the hoax report.

Another fake news website falsely claims that Paris Hilton committed suicide while in prison. In this case, the fake article has been designed to looklike a real Australian ABC web page.

High profile celebrities are often the targets of hoaxes tricked up to look like genuine news articles.

Last updated: 13th June 2007
First published: 13th june 2007
By Brett M. ChristensenAbout Hoax-Slayer